


Modern Day Breakfast Club

by JustHannah



Category: The Breakfast Club (1985)
Genre: Abuse, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorder, Depression, F/M, Social Anxiety, bad boy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-21 03:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4813409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustHannah/pseuds/JustHannah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dear Mr. Vernon,<br/>     We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in <br/>detention for whatever it is that we did wrong. But we think you're <br/>crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see<br/> us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms and the most convenient<br/> definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, a<br/> jock, a basket case, a princess, a criminal, and a nobody. Does that <br/>answer your question?<br/>   Sincerely yours, <br/>   The Breakfast Club.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Saturday Detention

   I walked slowly up to the high school, dreading seeing Mr. Vernon, I hated him almost as much as I hated my father, that's a lot of hate in one person if you don't mind me saying.  
   I walked through the door, instantly feeling cold from the unneeded air conditioning, I walked halfway down the hallway in front of me and into the library where I saw three others sitting, hugging my jacket to my body, there sat Alan, the jock sitting next to Cassandra, the popular girl, Bram, the nerd at his own table behind them.  
   I am the quiet one with a lot of issues but is an expert at hiding it, I sat down at a table by myself, avoiding everyone else, when Brent, the bad boy who doesn't seem to really give a shit, walked in touching random objects and stealing a small note pad then stared Cassandra and Alan up and down, he went up to Bram and motioned for him to get up and move to a different seat which Bram automatically did.  
   Brent pulled an extra chair out from my table after looking at me as if he may ask if he could take it to which I nodded, he rested his feet on it then put his hands behind his head closing his eyes, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who knows his real name in this room, everyone else calls him by his last name, Reis, I could already tell everyone else hated him apart from Bram who seemed scared of him.  
   A girl trudged in with her hair covering her face and I knew her to be a girl named Abby, she's very very quiet and cleaver seeing as she is a thief/compulsive liar, everyone including Brent watched her as she walked over to the table behind me and sat down then turned in a different direction, I looked over to see Alan look over at Cassandra both of them letting out small laughs which I didn't really seem to understand.  
   I heard footsteps enter the library and I knew exactly whose they were, I looked up to see Mr. Richard Vernon instantly feeling a little scared.  
   "Well, well, here we are, I want to congratulate you for being on time," Vernon said smugly looking at Brent.  
   "Excuse me, sir?" Cassandra raised her hand and continued, "I think there's been a mistake, I know it's detention, but, um, I don't think I belong in here."  
   "It is now 7:06, you have exactly 8 hours and 54 minutes to think about why you're here, ponder the error of your ways," Brent spit up in the air then caught it back in his mouth earning a small "Gross" from Cassandra the Rich spoke again, "You may not talk, you will not move from these seats," Vernon looked at Bram who was about to move to the seat next to him but sat back in his original seat, then Vernon turned to Brent, "And you...will not sleep," he pulled the chair that Brent's feet were resting out making them fall to the ground but he instantly rested them on the table then turned to me with a threatening look on his face scaring me then said, "God, your such a sad excuse for a human being, piece of shit."  
   Mr. Vernon handed each of us a paper and a pencil then spoke again, "All right, people, we're going to try something different today. We are going to write an essay...of no less than 1,000 words...describing to me who you think you are."  
   "Is this a test?" Brent asked having a certain look in his eyes that I couldn't really explain.  
   "When I say 'essay', I mean essay. I do not mean a single word repeated 1,000 times. Is that clear, Mr. Reis?" Vernon spat.  
   "Crystal," Brent replied with a smirk spread across his face.  
   "Good," Vernon responded, "Maybe you'll learn a little something about yourself. Maybe you'll even decide whether you care to return."  
   "You know, I can answer that right now, sir. That'd be 'no' for me, because -" Bram stood up trying to be as much of a kiss-ass as he could, I didn't blame him, if you were a kiss-ass you weren't treated as badly as the rest of us.  
   "Sit down, Jackson," Vernon demanded making Bram sit down immediately and say, "Thank you, sir."  
   "My office is right across that hall, any monkey business is ill-advised. Any questions?" Mr. Vernon said getting no response and as he was about to walk away Brent asked.  
   "Yeah, I got a question, does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?" Brent asked earning a quiet laugh from me making him turn to me and smile a smile I'd never seem before, it looked as if he were actually happy whereas most of the time I could tell he wasn't and it hurt to see him that way.  
   "I'll answer that, Mr. Reis, next Saturday. Don't mess with the bull, young man, you'll get the horns," Vernon replied in a threatening manner then walked away.  
   "That man is a brownie hound," Brent said quietly making Bram and I laugh softly.


	2. You Don't Even Count

   Alan unbuttoned his varsity jacket and as he finished I heard a clicking sound from behind me, the others seemed to notice and we all turned around to see Abby hunched over biting her fingernails. She looked up to see us staring at her looking really confused then bit her nail again.  
   "You keep eating your hand and you won't be hungry for lunch," Brent responded making her spit a nail at him then he continued, "I've seen you before, you know."  
   Brent started humming the intro to Sunshine On My Love and Cassandra whispered, "I can't believe this is really happening to me."  
   "Oh, shit!" Brent exclaimed, "What if we have to take a piss? You got to go, you got to go."  
   "Oh, my God," Cassandra said looking appalled.  
   "You're not urinating in here, man," Alan snickered as Brent unzipped his pants.  
   "Don't talk, it makes it crawl back up," Reis replied as I stared down at my paper trying to ignore them, honestly fighting made me a nervous wreck, I don't really know why but my heart starts beating out of my chest and I can hardly breath, but this wasn't enough to make me feel all that just a little nervous.  
   "Whip it out and you're dead before the first drop hits the floor," Alan said giving Brent a threatening look but Brent wasn't scared at all.  
   "You're pretty sexy when you get angry," Brent replied zipping up his pants and sitting back in his seat then turned to Bram, "Hey, home boy, why don't you go close that door? We'll get the prom queen impregnated."  
   "Hey," Alan defended.  
   "Hey!" Cassandra exclaimed.  
   "What? Ever heard of sarcasm?" Brent asked calmly.  
   "If I lose my temper, you're totaled, man," Alan warned but failed at scaring Reis.  
   "Totally?" Brent asked mimicking him.  
   "Totally," Alan confirmed.  
   "Why don't you just shut up? Nobody here's interested," Cassandra insisted.  
   "Can you please stop?" I looked her straight in the eyes seeing Brent smile out of the corner of my eye and Alan look at me in a threatening way.  
   "Bitch," Alan whispered as he turned around making Brent speak up again.  
   "Hey, sporto, what'd you do to get in here? Forget to wash your jock?" Reis fired back.  
   "Excuse me, fellas, we should just write our papers," Bram tried but failed to stop the argument, I doubt even I could stop it.        
   "Just because you live here doesn't earn you the right to be an asshole, so shut the hell up!" Alan yelled turning back to look at Brent making my heartbeat quicken in slight fear.  
   "It's a free country," I whispered getting a pissed look from Alan.  
   "He's doing it just to piss you off, just ignore him," Cassandra said softly.  
   "So, are you guys like boyfriend-girlfriend? Steady dates? Lovers?" Brent asked Cassandra and Alan, "Come on, sporto, level with me, do you slip her the hot beef injection?"  
   "Go to hell!" Cassandra screamed.  
   "Enough!" Alan yelled.  
   "Hey! What's going on in there?" Vernon yelled then said to himself, "Spoiled little pricks."  
   "Scumbag," Alan whispered as he turned back around and faced forward again.  
   "What do you say we close that door. We can't have a party with Vernon checking every few seconds," Brent got up from his seat then sat on the railing surrounding the tables.  
   "The door's supposed to stay open," Bram protested.  
   "So what?" Brent replied.  
   "So why don't you shut up? There's four other people in here you know, well five if you count that nobody," Alan said looking at me.  
   "God, you can count, see I knew you had to be smart to be a wrestler and yes she counts why the hell wouldn't she she's just as much of a person as we are," Brent replied making a smile tug at the corner of my lips but it vanished at the thought of Alan calling me a nobody.  
   "Who the hell are you to judge anybody?" Alan asked.  
   "Really," Cassandra added.  
   "Please, just stop it," I insisted trying to defuse the situation but obviously it wasn't working when Alan turned to me.  
   "You know, Casey, you don't even count, if you disappeared forever, it wouldn't make any difference, no one would care, you may as well not even exist at this school, and you too Reis, you don't even count, if you disappeared forever, it wouldn't make any difference," Alan said, I could hear the smirk in his voice, I bit down on my lower lip trying to hide the pain from all of them and it seemed to work until I looked over at Brent whose expression was angry.  
   "Well, I'll run right out and join the wrestling team or the prep club, student council," Brent said sarcastically.  
   "Nah, they wouldn't take you," Alan insisted.  
   "I'm hurt," Brent clutched his chest and perched his lower lip looking cute as shit.  
   "You know why guys like you knock everything?" Cassandra asked.  
   "This should be stunning," Brent sighed.  
   "Because you're afraid," she answered.  
   "Oh, God, you richies are so smart, that's exactly why I'm not heavy into activities," his thick sarcasm made me feel better which was weird because nothing ever made me feel better.  
   "You're a big coward," she let out having that 'I know it all' expression sprung across her pretty face, "You're afraid you don't belong, so you just dump all over it."  
   "I'm in the math club," Bram tried to butt in but it didn't work.  
   "It wouldn't have anything to do with...you activities people being assholes, would it?" Reis wondered having a pretty good point.  
   "You wouldn't know, you don't know any of us," Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him.  
   "Well, I don't know any lepers either...but I'm not joining any of their fucking clubs," Brent murmured making me laugh softly.  
   "I'm in the physics club too," Bram tried again this time getting Brent's attention.  
   "Excuse me a sec," Brent held up a finger to Cassandra then asked Bram, "What are you babbling about?"  
   "What I said was that...I'm in the math club, the Latin club, and the physics club," Bram answered and stuttered a bit, out of the corner of my eye I could swear I saw Cassandra smile.  
   "Hey, blondie," Brent got Cassandra's attention and continued, "Do you belong to the physics club?"  
   "That's an academic club," she laughed.  
   "So?" Reis countered.  
   "So academic clubs aren't the same as other kinds of clubs," Cassandra shrugged.  
   "Ah, but to dorks like him, they are," Brent turned to Bram, "What do you guys do in your club?"  
   "In physics, well, we talk about physics, uh, properties of physics," Bram answered.  
   "So it's sort of social, demented and sad, but social, right?" Brent asked making me laugh quietly  and no one seemed to notice.  
   "I guess you could consider it a social situation, I mean there are other children in my club and, uh, at the end of the year,  
we have, a big banquet at the Hilton," Bram explained.  
   "You load up. You party," Brent assumed.  
   "No, we get dressed up, but we don't get high," Bram corrected him.  
   "Only burnouts like you get high," Cassandra squinted her eyes at Brent as Bram kept telling a story  about one year at the banquet but I didn't really pay much attention.


	3. Show Dick Some Respect

   "You guys keep talking and Vernon's gonna come in here. I got a meet Saturday, and I'm not missing it because of you idiots," Alan said while still sounding angry.  
   "Oh, wouldn't that be a bite, huh? Missing a whole wrestling meet?" Brent said stepping closer to Alan flailing his arms a bit.  
   "You wouldn't know about it, faggot, you never competed in your life," Alan fired back.  
   "Oh, I know, I feel all empty inside because of it,  I have such a deep admiration for guys who roll around with other guys," he smiled and acted as if he were sad, clutching his chest.  
   "You'd never miss it, you don't have any goals," Alan declared.  
   "Ah, but I do," Brent disagreed.  
   "Yeah?" Alan asked skeptically.  
   "I want to be just like you, I figure all I need's a lobotomy and some tights," Brent retorted making me laugh a little.  
   "You wear tights?" Bram wondered with a straight face honestly curious.  
   "No, I don't wear tights, I wear the required uniform," Alan argued.  
   "Tights," Bram confirmed raising his eyebrows.  
   "Shut up," Alan said sounding annoyed.  
   We heard shuffling from Vernon's office and Brent jumped off of the railing and sat next to me and put his hands together, when we heard Vernon walk down the hall Brent scooted the chair out and made an inhaling sound then let out a noise I don't really know how to describe and got up.  
   "There's not supposed to be any monkey business," Bram said quietly when Reis walked toward the door then turned around to answer while still walking.  
   "Young man, have you finished your paper?" he mimicked Vernon then turned back around toward the door and looked both ways outside into the hallway.  
   "Reis, stop screwing around!" Alan yelled.  
   "What are you gonna do?" Cassandra asked a little annoyed.  
   "Drop dead, I hope," Alan replied.  
   "Alan," I sighed and he turned back and glared at me with a death look.  
   "Reis, that's school property, it doesn't belong to us, it's not to be toyed with," Bram tried stopping him but before he could say anything else Reis was walking back toward us and the door slammed making a loud sound all through the large library.  
   "Very funny, fix it," Alan demanded turning back to look at Brent.  
   "You should fix that," Bram said quietly.  
   "Am I a genius?" Brent asked while sitting down in his original seat.  
   "No, you're an asshole!" Alan yelled turning in his seat to look at him.  
   "What a funny guy, everyone, just shh," he sat normally and everyone kept arguing telling Reis to fix the door when we heard Vernon.  
   "Goddamn it!" Vernon opened the door and walked up to us then continued, "Why is that door closed?" None of us answered him and he yelled, "Why is that door closed!"  
   "How are we supposed to know? We can't move, right?" Brent asked calmly avoiding Richard's glare.  
   "Why?" Vernon demanded to know.  
   "We're just sitting here, like we're supposed to," I replied quietly trying to get the blame off of Brent and out of the corner of my eye as I was looking up to see Vernon's glare, Brent was looking at me with wide eyes.  
   "Who closed that door?" Vernon asked.  
   "I think a screw fell out of it," Brent suggested.  
   "It just closed, sir," Cassandra said surprising both Reis and I.  
   "Who?!" Vernon yelled staring at Abby who hit her head down against the table.  
   "She doesn't talk, sir," I said quietly.  
   Vernon turned back to Reis and demanded threateningly, "Give me that screw."  
   "I don't have it," Brent looked down at the table.  
   "You want me to shake it out of you?" Vernon stepped closer.  
   "I don't have it, screws fall out all the time, the world's an imperfect place," Brent insisted.  
   "Give it to me, Reis."  
   "Sir, why would anybody steal a screw?" I asked quietly looking down.  
   "Watch it, young lady," he pointed his finger at me.  
   "Damn it! Alan Ceder, get up here, front and center, let's go," Vernon demanded, Alan followed him to the door where they put a magazine display in between the door to keep it open.  
   "How come Alan gets to get up? If he gets up, we'll all get up, It'll be anarchy," Brent exclaimed making me laugh quietly.  
   "Okay, watch the magazines," Vernon told Alan.  
   "It's out of my hands," Brent said to himself then told Vernon, "That's very clever, sir...but what if there's a fire? I think violating fire codes and endangering the lives of children would be unwise at this juncture in your career, sir."  
   "What are you doing? Get this out, for God's sake, what's the matter with you?" Vernon told Alan as he moved the rack out of the way.  
   "The school's equipped with fire exits at either end of the library," Bram explained.  
   "Show Dick some respect," Brent mimicked Richard's voice when he and Alan walked toward us.  
   "Let's go, get in your seat," he told Alan and as he sat down he continued, "I expected more from a varsity letterman." then he turned to Brent and gave him the death stare and said, "You're not fooling anybody, Reis, the next screw that falls out will be you."  
   "Eat my shorts," Brent whispered making me start to get nervous knowing there'd be an altercation between the two of them that may turn physical.  
   "What was that?" Vernon asked, sounding both pissed and annoyed while walking up to his table.  
   "Eat...my...shorts," Reis said clearly.  
   "You just bought another Saturday, mister," Vernon pointed at him.  
   "Oh, I'm crushed," Brent said sarcastically like it was nothing.  
   "One more right there," Vernon fumed.  
   "I'm free the next Saturday, beyond that, I'll check my calendar," Brent replied yelling a little making my heart start to race.        
   "Good!" Brent exclaimed.  
   "It's gonna be filled, we'll keep going, you want another one? Say the word, just say it, instead of going to prison, you'll come here...are you through?" Vernon half-yelled making me jump a little.  
   "No," Brent replied crossing his arms over his chest.  
   "I'm doing society a favor."  
   "So?"  
   "That's another! I've got you for the rest of your natural born life if you don't watch it, you want another?" Vernon asked.  
   "Yes," Brent just wouldn't stop and I knew he'd regret it and I hated seeing him hurt.  
   "You got it! That's another one, pal," Vernon informed him.  
   "Stop...please," I whispered and Vernon turned to me.  
   "You too, just as many as him!" he then turned back to Brent and wondered, "You through?"  
   "Not even close, bud," Brent emphasized the _bud_.  
   "Good! You got another one right there."  
   "You really think I give a shit?" Brent looked at him and all I could do was stare at the two of them hoping things wouldn't get physical.  
   "Another. You through?"  
   "How many is that?" Brent asked glaring at Vernon.  
   "That's seven including the first one when you asked whether Barry Manilow knew he raided his closet, now it's eight," Bram informed them quietly.   
   "No its eight," Vernon insisted.  
   "Sir, it's seven," Bram replied putting up seven fingers.  
   "Shut up, peewee," Vernon demanded and continued, "You're mine, Reis, for two months, I got you, I got you."  
   "What can I say? I'm thrilled," Brent said clearly sarcastic.  
   "That's exactly what you want them to believe, you know something? You should spend more time doing something with yourself and less time trying to impress people, might be better off," Brent was narrowing his eyes at Richard then continued, "Right, that's it! I'll be outside those doors, the next time I have to come in here, I'm cracking skulls."  
   Brent mouthed 'I'm cracking skulls' and when Vernon left Brent screamed, "Fuck you!"


	4. Switch-Blade

   Things had calmed down and I was watching Brent as he lit a match and lit his shoe on fire then lit his cigarette with it then put it out and started air guitaring, Cassandra was sitting there daydreaming, Bram was sitting there looking around, Abby was drawing a picture, and Alan had taken his jacket off and was playing with the strings on his hoodie.  
   Soon I found myself to be tired so I put my head down, I looked at Brent to already see him staring at me, we held the gaze till he smiled and my eyes shut slowly.  
     
   
   "Wake up!" was the next thing I heard after falling asleep, it was Mr. Vernon, then he spoke again, "Who has to go to the lavatory?"  
   I lifted my head and laughed at Brent who was stretched on top of his table then we went to the bathroom and came back to the library where Vernon left us.  
   Brent started ripping pages out of one of books and threw them around him while sitting on the railing again, which provoked Alan to say while he was stretching, "That's real intelligent."  
   "You're right, it's wrong to destroy literature, it's such fun to read," he looked at the front of the book and continued, "And...  
"Molay" really pumps my 'nads'."  
   "Moliere," Cassandra said sounding really annoyed.  
   "Nothing to do, locked in a vacancy," Brent murmured.  
   "Ah, speak for yourself," Alan retorted.  
   "You think I'd speak for you? I don't even know your language," Brent said as he picked up a shelf of cards and started mixing them up then Alan turned to Cassandra.  
   "Hey, you grounded tonight?"  
   "I don't know, my mom said I was, but my dad said to blow her off," she answered.  
   "There's a big party at Stubby's, parents are in Europe, it should be pretty wild."  
   "Yeah?" she asked.  
   "Yeah. Are you going to go?" Alan wondered.  
   "I doubt it," she half-frowned.  
   "How come?"  
   "If I disobey my mother, it's because my father says it's okay, it's like this whole monster deal, it's endless and a total drag, its just like any minute, divorce," she replied rolling her eyes.  
   "Who do you like better?" Brent butted in.  
   "What?" Cassandra asked with wide eyes, probably surprised that he even said anything at all.  
   "You like your old man better?" he questioned.  
   "They're both screwed," she answered.  
   "I mean if you had to choose between the two."  
   "I don't know I'd probably go live with my brother, I don't think either one gives a shit about me, its like they use me to get back at each other."  
   "You're just feeling sorry for yourself," Alan declared.  
   "If I didn't, nobody else would," she said getting teary eyed.  
   "Aw, you're breaking my heart," Alan said sarcastically.  
   "Sporto?" Brent asked.  
   "What?" Alan responded.  
   "You get along with your parents?" Brent wondered then jumped down from the railing and threw the book aside like a piece of trash.  
   "If I say yes, I'm an idiot, right?" Alan assumed as Brent stepped closer to him preparing to argue.  
   "You're an idiot anyway, but if you say yes, well that makes you a liar too," Brent retorted as he walked away but Alan followed and pushed him making Brent turn around and give him a threatening look, like he was going to kill him.  
   "You know something, man? If we weren't in school right now, I'd waste you," Alan declared then Brent put his middle finger up-side down.  
   "Can you hear this? You want me to turn it up?" he said asked he turned so he was flipping Alan off.  
   "Hey, fellas, I mean -I don't like my parents, either, I mean, I don't -I mean, I don't get along with them when...their idea of parental compassion is just, you know...wacko, you know?" Bram had put his hands on their shoulders but they smacked them away then Brent turned to him.  
   "Dork."  
   "Yeah?" Bram asked.  
   "You are a parent's wet dream, okay?" Brent told him.  
   "That's the problem,"  
   "Look, I can see you're getting all bunged up...for them making you wear these clothes...but, face it, you're a neo-maxi-zoom-dweeby. What would you do if you weren't out making yourself a better citizen?"  
   "Why do you have to insult everybody?" Alan asked, yelling a little.  
   "He hasn't insulted Abby, or me," I said quietly.  
   "No one asked you twat so shut up," Alan snickered.  
   "I'm being honest, asshole, I would expect you to know the difference, and she's right so don't tell her to shut up," Brent turned to me then back at Alan.  
   "Well, he's got a name," Alan murmured.  
   "Yeah?"   
   "Yeah, what's your name?" Alan asked Bram.  
   "Bram."  
   "See?"  
   "My condolences," Brent muttered as he passed Bram while walking away but looked him in the eyes when he said it.  
   "What's your name?" Cassandra asked Brent.  
   "What's yours?" he asked back, I could tell as she was about to protest and tell him to answer her question first she decided to answer him.  
   "Cassandra."  
   "Cassandra?" Brent asked, having a bit of a disgusted, confused look on his face.  
   "Cassandra, it's a family name," Cassandra insisted.  
   "It's a sluts name," Brent wasn't afraid to admit.  
   "Thank you," she said sarcastically.  
   "Your welcome," he fake smiled.  
   "I'm not a slut," she fumed.  
   "Maybe not now but I could see you turning into one," Brent replied with half-sarcasm when she flipped him off then continued, " I'm seeing some obscene finger gestures from such a pristine girl."  
   "I'm not that pristine," Cassandra responded.  
   "Are you a virgin?" Brent wondered.  
   "I'll bet you a million dollars that you are, let's end the suspense why don't we, is it gonna to be a white wedding?" Brent questioned but I decided to stay the hell out of this one unless Brent got too angry or hurt.  
   "Why don't you just shut up?" Cassandra asked angrily.  
   "Have you kissed a boy on the mouth?" when she didn't answer he kept going, "Have you ever been felt up...over the bra...under the blouse...shoes off...hoping to God your parents don't walk in?"  
   "Do you want me to puke?" she asked.  
   "Over the panties...no bra...blouse unbuttoned...Calvin's in a ball on the front seat past 11:00 on a school night?" he asked getting no response, Cassandra just looked at him with wide eyes.  
   "Leave her alone," Alan demanded, "I said leave her alone."  
   "You going to make me?" Brent asked looking toward Alan.  
   "Yeah," he answered when Brent stepped onto Cassandra's table and jumped off a foot in front of Alan.  
   "You and how many of your friends?"  
   "Reis," I murmured quietly and he only glanced at me then looked back at Alan as he started speaking again.  
   "Just me, just you and me, two hits, me hitting you, you hitting the floor, anytime you're ready, pal," he said, Brent turned toward me then hit Alan in the face with the back of his hand then Alan had him by the arms pushing his face into the floor. My nerves were on edge.  
   "I don't want to get into this with you, man," Brent said the Alan let go and stood back up in a fighting stance.  
   "Why not?" Alan asked.  
   "'Cause I'd kill you," Brent stood up with no problem then turned toward Alan and continued, "It's real simple, I'd kill you, and your fucking parents would sue me, and it'd be a big mess, and I don't care enough about you to bother."   
   "Chicken shit," Alan whispered then Brent pulled a switch-blade out of his pocket, I was too scared to speak until he looked at me and saw how scared I was, he looked sad but then he nudged the knife into the chair beside me, making me feel relieved.  
   "Let's end this now, you don't talk to her, you don't look at her, and you don't even think about her! Understand me?!" Alan yelled making me jump a little.  
   "I'm trying to help her," Brent looked at me then turned to Alan again.  
   When I looked back at the chair the switch-blade was gone.


	5. It's All Part of Your Image

   Things had calmed down since Brent and Alan had their altercation and we were all sitting quietly in our original seats when the Janitor, Carl Reed, walked in pushing a trash can.  
   He went into the room in front of us and put the trash in the trash can he brought then walked out of the room and asked, "Bram, how you doing?"  
   "Your dad work here?" Brent asked Bram and when he shook his head he turned back to Carl, "Uh, Carl?"  
   "What?" Carl responded.  
   "Can I ask you a question?" Brent wondered.  
   "Sure," Carl replied turning toward the six of us.  
   "How does one become a janitor?"  
   "You want to be a janitor?" Carl asked looking very confused.  
   "No, I want to know how one becomes a janitor...because Andrew's very interested in a career in the custodial arts," Brent answered making Bram laugh.  
   "Really?" Brent smiled and Alan glared back at him then Carl spoke again, "You think I'm some untouchable peasant, serf, peon? Yeah? Maybe so, from following a broom after shitheads like you for the past ten years I've learned a couple of things. I look through your letters. Look through your lockers. I listen to your conversations, you don't know that, but I do. I am the eyes and ears of this institution, my friends."  
   I looked over to see Brent smiling a crooked smile when Carl informed us, "By the way, that clock's 20 minutes fast."  
   Around five minutes later, I looked back at the clock which read 11:50am, meaning that it was now 11:30, Brent started whistling and soon the rest of us were whistling along with him until Richard came in and we all stopped but Brent who whistled a little part of 'Beethoven's Fifth Symphony' making Richard glare at him.  
   "All right, girls, that's thirty minutes for lunch."  
   "Here?" Alan asked, sounding both confused and angry.  
   "Here," Mr. Vernon confirmed.  
   "I think the cafeteria would be a more suitable place, sir," Alan suggested making Vernon roll his eyes.  
   "I don't care what you think, Alan," Vernon snapped.  
   "Dick, excuse me, Rich, will milk be made available?" Brent asked making me laugh softly.  
   "We're extremely thirsty," Alan informed Vernon.  
   "I have a really low tolerance for dehydration," Cassandra lied.  
   "I've seen her dehydrate, sir, it's pretty gross," Alan added  
   "Relax, I'll get it," Brent volunteered and stood when Vernon protested.  
   "Grab some wood there bub, you think I was born yesterday? Think I'm going to let you roam these halls?" Vernon asked then turned to Alan who was pointing at Cassandra and Abby and pointed at them both but Abby wasn't really paying attention, "You, and you, hey! What's her name? Wake her up, come on! On your feet, missy, let's go, this isn't a rest home."  
   Vernon went back to his office when Alan and Abby went to go get soda, we all moved back and Cassandra started leaning on the sculpture while I was sitting at Abby's table turned toward everyone else and Bram was sitting awkwardly on the railing with Brent to the right of him sitting at a table.  
   I felt Brent's eyes on me ad turned to se him smiling crookedly at me making me smile back, he looked at Cassandra and asked, "Cassandra, want to see a picture of a guy with elephantitis of the nuts? It's pretty tasty."  
   "No, thank you," she replied rolling her eyes at him and playing with her nails.  
   "How do you think he rides a bike? Would you ever even consider dating a guy like this?" Brent asked.  
   "Can't you just leave me alone?" Cassandra asked getting really frustrated.  
   "If he had a great personality...was a good dancer and had a cool car? You'd probably have to ride in the backseat though because his nuts would ride shotgun."  
   "You know what I wish I was doing?" Cassandra asked and looked off into the distance.  
   "And that's relevant how?" I asked quietly earning a glare from Cassandra and a flawless smile from Brent.  
   "Watch what you say, Bram is a cherry," Brent laughed talking about Cassandra's question.  
   "Cherry?" Bram asked.  
   "I wish I was on a plane...to France," Cassandra said anyway not caring at all whatsoever if it made her sound self-centered or selfish.  
   "I'm not a cherry," Bram exclaimed.  
   "When have you ever been laid?" Brent asked then turned to Bram.  
   "I've laid lots of times," Bram claimed.  
   "Name one."  
   "She lives in Canada, met her at Niagara Falls, you wouldn't know her," Bram explained but we all knew he wasn't telling the truth other then Cassandra who wasn't paying any attention.  
   "Ever laid anyone around here?" Brent wondered.  
   Bram slyly motioned toward Cassandra and I knew what he was doing, he didn't want her to know he was a virgin but I knew Brent was going to say something and that exactly what he did.  
   "Oh, you and Cassandra did it?"  
   "What are you talking about?" Cassandra asked now paying full attention.  
   "Nothing, nothing, drop it, we'll talk about it later," Bram muttered to Brent.  
   "Drop what?" Cassandra questioned.  
   "Bram's telling me that, in addition to a number of girls in the Niagara Falls area, that presently, you and he are riding the hobby horse," Brent informed her making me rub my forehead waiting for this fight to be resolved.  
   "Little pig," Cassandra insulted.  
   "No, I'm not!" Bram exclaimed looking desperate for her to understand, "Brent said I was a cherry, and I said I wasn't, that's it."   
   "What were you motioning to Cassandra for?" Brent asked Bram.  
   "I don't appreciate this, Bram," Cassandra replied.  
   "He is lying," Bram insisted.  
   "You weren't motioning to Cassandra?" Brent wondered.  
   "He did motioned to you but -" I said until Bram interrupted me and I turned to see Brent smiling at me again.  
   "Yeah, but it was only...it was only because I didn't want her to know I'm a virgin, excuse me for being a virgin," Bram explained.  
   "Why didn't you want me to know?" Cassandra asked.  
   "Because it's personal, it's my personal, private business," Bram answered rubbing the back of his neck nervously, but I knew the real reason was because they wouldn't think of him the same way.  
   "It doesn't sound like you're doing any business," Brent muttered making me laugh a little but Bram didn't seem mad when he saw me laugh which made me feel relieved.  
   "I think it's okay for a guy to be a virgin," Cassandra genuinely smiled at Bram who smiled back at her.  
   "You do?" Bram asked making Cassandra nod and smile at him again.  
   Abby and Alan got back with the soda and we all sat down again then got out our lunches which for me was nothing, as Cassandra got out her lunch Brent was looking over her shoulder and asked, "What's in there?"  
   "Guess," she replied getting out the items then asked him, "Where's your lunch?"  
   "You're wearing it," Brent joked but Cassandra didn't think so.  
   "You're nauseating."  
   "What's that?" Brent asked about the food again.  
   "Sushi," she answered simply picking up the sow sauce and pouring a little on the sushi then put it back down behind the food.   
   "Sushi?" Brent wondered looking a little disgusted.  
   "Rice, raw fish, and seaweed," Cassandra informed him, picking up her chopsticks and pointing to what was what on the little platter in front of her.  
   "You won't accept a guy's tongue in your mouth but you'll eat that?" Brent asked.  
   "Can I eat?"  
   "I don't know, give it a try," Brent replied making me laugh.  
   Alan unpacked his lunch of about four sandwiches, a carton of milk, a bag of donuts, a banana, and an apple making Brent and I stare at him with wide eyes, when he noticed Alan asked, "What's your problem?"  
   "What are we having?" Brent got up and sat next to Bram.  
   "Uh...it's your standard regular lunch, I guess," he responded.  
   "PB&J with the crusts cut off, well, Bram, this is a very nutritious lunch, all the food groups are represented, did your Mom marry Mr. Rogers?" Brent joked.  
   "No, Mr. Jackson," Bram corrected making me laugh.  
   "Here's my impression of life at big Bram's house," Brent got into position and started.  
          Dad: Son?  
          Bram: Yeah, Dad?  
          Dad: How's your day, pal?  
          Bram: Great, Dad. How's yours?  
          Dad: Super. Say, son, how'd you like to go fishing this weekend?  
          Bram: Great, Dad, but I've got homework to do.  
          Dad: That's all right, son. You can do it on the boat.  
          Bram: Gee!  
          Dad (to mom): Dear, isn't our son swell?  
          Mom: Yes, dear. Isn't life swell?  
          Dad: Oh. *kisses*  
          Mom: Oh.*kisses*  
   Brent then pretended to kiss someone beside them but punched them where their face would have been.  
   "All right, what about your family?" Cassandra asked making me tense up.  
   "Who, mine?" Brent wondered.  
   "Yeah," Cassandra confirmed.  
   "It's real easy..." he then got in a different position.  
          Dad: Stupid...worthless...no good, goddamn...freeloading, son of a bitch. Retarded, big mouth, know-it-all...asshole, jerk.  
          Mom: You forgot ugly, lazy and disrespectful.  
          Dad: Shut up, bitch! *slaps* Go fix me a turkey potpie.  
          Brent: What about you, Dad?  
          Dad: Fuck you.  
          Brent: No, Dad. What about you?  
          Dad: Fuck you!  
          Brent: No dad! What about you!  
          Dad: Fuck you! *punches*  
   It was scaring me how much his father resembled mine but I didn't say a word although I wanted to just to comfort him, I knew he was unstable and he knew it too.  
   "Is that for real?" Bram wondered honestly.  
   "You wanna come over some time?" Brent asked.  
   "That's bullshit, it's all part of your image, I don't believe a word of it," Alan insisted making anger flash through my eyes and my heart.  
   "You don't believe me?" Brent said I a threatening way.  
   "Alan, stop," I said calmly but he didn't stop.  
   "No," he answered the both of us.  
   "No?" Brent asked.  
   "Did I stutter?" Alan said clearly.  
   "Do you believe this? Huh? It's about the size of a cigar, do I stutter?" Brent had his sleeve pulled up and pointed to a burn mark on his forearm making me cringe, "This is what you get in my house when you spill paint in the garage, see, I don't think I need to sit with you fucking shitheads anymore," he looked at everyone but me and walked over to a shelf and shoved all of the books off of it, yelling in frustration then jumped up on it then onto the stairwell and sat down with his back to us.  
   I followed his path and sat next to him, I could feel him shaking and he was trying to hide it but he couldn't hide it from me, I looked over at him and whispered, "I'm sorry."  
   All he did was turn to me and look at me sadly, I looked down at his hands which were clutched together trying to stop the shaking, I placed my hand on them and they stopped shaking, I felt him relax and sit closer to me then I thought to myself, he's a lot different then the way he portrays himself. 


	6. A Lot Different Then I Expected

I felt Brent take my hand in his and hold it softly surprising me a little but I squeezed his comfortingly, I looked over at him and murmured, "I know what Alan said was idiotic but you wanna go back down there?"  
"Yeah, we need to make a trip to my locker anyway," Brent replied spreading a smirk across his face making me laugh softly, happy he was feeling better.  
We stood up and our hands separated making mine instantly feel cold, I looked over at Brent who was now frowning looking down at his hand then at me, we walked down the stairs and as we passed the tables Brent told them that we needed to make a trip to his locker making them follow us.  
Brent opened the door and we heard footsteps walking away in a different direction making him hold the door for me and go the opposite way of Vernon.  
"How do you know where Vernon went?" Cassandra asked Brent.  
"I don't," he answered not making eye contact.  
"How do you know when he'll be back?" I wondered earning a smile from Brent.  
"I don't," he answered then continued, "Being bad feels pretty good, huh?"  
"What's the point in going to Reis' locker?" I heard Bram ask Alan  
"Beats me."  
"This is so stupid, why are we risking getting caught?" Bram questioned.  
"I don't know," Alan replied.  
"So then what are we doing?"  
"Ask one more question and I'm beating the shit out of you," Alan threatened making Bram look down at his feet and reply.   
"Sorry."  
We got to Brent's locker and he opened it causing a blade to fall down just incase someone opened his locker who wasn't supposed to.  
"You're such a slob," Alan commented on the untidiness of his locker.  
"My maid's on vacation," Brent responded sarcastically then got out a balled up brown paper bag and unwrapped it, he got out another bag and opened it, then another and there was marijuana wrapped in plastic.  
"It's drugs," Bram exclaimed, sounding horrified.  
"Screw that, Reis, put it back," Alan protested as Brent walked away.  
"Drugs, the boy has marijuana, that was marijuana," I heard Bram say then Alan insulted him.  
"Shut up, dick."  
"Do you approve of this?" Bram must have asked Abby because she just squealed in return.  
We walked through the halls when Brent suggested, "We'll cross through the lab and double back."  
"You better be right, if Vernon cuts us off, it's your fault, asshole," Alan replied now walking beside Brent and me walking behind him.  
"What'd he say? Where are we going?" Bram questioned Cassandra behind me.  
"I don't know," I heard Cassandra reply surprisingly having a sweet sound in her voice.  
As Brent and Alan led the way Brent stopped us and realized we were about to go the wrong way, "Wait, wait, hold it, we have to go through the cafeteria."  
"No, the activities hall," Alan protested.  
"You don't know what you're saying," Brent replied rolling his eyes.  
"No, you don't!" Alan yelled, "We're through listening to you, we're going this way, go where you want, motorhead."  
I walked a few steps forward and looked back at Brent and held out my hand then said quietly, "Come on, better us be together then separated."  
He nodded and took my hand, we ran toward the group and as soon as we got to the entrance of the activities hall, it was gated up.  
"Shit!" Alan cursed.  
"Great idea, jackoff," Brent murmured.  
"Fuck you," Alan yelled.  
" Fuck you, why didn't you listen to Brent?" I responded getting a death glare from Alan, "We're dead."  
"No, just me," Brent said letting go of my hand.  
"What do you mean?" I asked looking him in the eye.  
"Get back to the library," Brent told us then stuffed the weed down Bram's pants and told him, "Keep your pants on."  
Brent ran down the hallway singing a song loudly and tearing down the posters on the walls, we ran back to the library having no problem with getting caught.  
We sat there for a few minutes when Vernon came in holding Brent by his jacket and pushed him to his table then said, "Mr. Wise Guy took it upon himself to go to the gymnasium, I'm sorry to inform you, you'll be without his services for the rest of the day."  
"B-o-o h-o-o," Brent joked.  
"Everything's a big joke, huh, Reis? The false alarm you pulled Friday, false alarms are really funny, what if your home -what if your family -what if your dope was on fire?"  
"Impossible, sir, it's in Jackson's underwear," Brent replied making us laugh quietly to ourselves.  
"You think he's funny? You think this is cute? He's "bitchin"? Is that it? Let me tell you something, look at him -" I interrupted him.  
"There's nothing wrong with him."  
"You stay the hell out of this, he's a bum, want to see something funny? You go visit Brent Reis in five years, you'll see how funny he is," Vernon said, Brent looked at me as if he were going to punch a hole in the wall but I nodded and mouthed, 'Don't, he isn't worth it, Brent.'  
"What's the matter, Brent? You gonna cry? Let's go," Vernon grabbed him by the collar of his leather jacket and dragged him a little then Brent got out of his grip.  
"Keep your fucking hands off me! I expect better manners from you, Dick," Brent hissed then placed a pair of sunglasses on the table in front of Bram, "For better hallway vision."  
They walked out of the room and Brent pushed a few things off of the counter, I followed soundlessly behind them as they went into a closet, I sat outside and listened in.  
"That's the last time, Reis, that's the last time you ever make me look bad in front of them, I make $31,000 a year and have a home, I'm not throwing it away on some punk like you, but someday, man, someday...when you're gone and have forgotten about this place...and they've forgotten you, and you're wrapped up in your pathetic life...I'm gonna be there, that's right, I'm gonna kick the living shit out of you, I'm gonna knock your dick in the dirt," Vernon threatened him making my heart drop.  
"You threatening me?" Reis asked having a hint of venom in his voice.  
"What are you gonna do about it? You think anybody will believe you? You think anybody's gonna take your word over mine? I'm a man of respect around here, they love me, I'm a swell guy, you're a lying sack of shit, and everybody knows it, Oh, you're a real tough guy, come on, get on your feet, pal! Let's find out how tough you are! I want to know right now how tough you are, I'll give you the first punch, come on, just take the first shot, please, I'm begging you, take a shot just take one shot,  
that's all I need, just one swing," Vernon begged but I heard nothing else, no shuffling, nothing, and I was glad but I've never been this angry before, at Vernon and sad for Brent then I heard Vernon speak again, "That's what I thought, you're a gutless turd."  
Vernon walked out of the room and just before he shut it I slipped in unnoticeably seeing Brent standing there with wide eyes, we heard Vernon walk away but knew we didn't have much time before he came back so we only talked a little.  
"Thank you," I murmured stepping closer to him.  
"For what?" he asked, I could tell he was hurt.  
"Not hitting him...you don't have to hide it from me," I touched his hair lightly and saw him relax.  
"Hide what?"  
"I know your hurt," I said quietly stepping closer and wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I felt his arms wrap tightly around my torso holding me tighter then I expected.  
We pulled back a little and our faces were inches apart, I felt his breath on my lips and his hand caressed my cheek softly, he pulled my lips closer to his and soon enough they touched.  
My hands tangled in his hair making him smile, we pulled away and he spoke against my lips, "Go, I'll see you in five minutes I promise, I just don't want you getting in trouble."  
I nodded and hugged him tightly then pulled away seeing his expression sadden, I opened the door and sneaked back to the library hearing Vernon's footsteps going toward the room where Brent was. I walked in and sat down at my table waiting patiently hoping Brent wouldn't get in any more trouble.


	7. What Was That Ruckus?

   I started to think too much and that's never a good thing, Cassandra was sitting on the table talking to Alan but kept glancing at Bram, Alan doing the same with Abby, I was taken from my thoughts when I heard shuffling above us then a huge sound came from the ceiling, Brent fell out of it and onto the second floor then walked casually down to us getting surprised looks from the rest of us.  
   "Forgot my pencil," was all he said.  
   "Goddamn it!" we heard Vernon yell making Brent scurry under my table hiding from him when Vernon yelled, "What in God's name is going on in here? What was that ruckus?"  
   "What ruckus?" Alan asked, covering for Brent making me feel unbelievably surprised and glad.  
   "I was in my office and I heard a ruckus," Vernon replied, still angry.  
   "Could you describe the ruckus, sir?" Bram chimed in.  
   "Watch your tongue, young man," Vernon pointed to Bram, Brent hit his head on the table making me hit it with my hands, then Brent hit it with his fist twice then Alan made a noise and Cassandra started coughing followed by Alan, Bram, Abby, and I."  
   "That noise? Was that the noise you were talking about?" Cassandra asked.  
   "No, that was not the noise, I was talking about, I may not have caught you in the act this time...but you can bet I will, and you," Vernon pointed to Cassandra, "I will not be made a fool of."  
   As Vernon was walking away we noticed tissue paper from the bathroom sticking out of his pants making us laugh, as soon as he walked out the door Brent got up and smiled at me then went up to Bram and asked, "Ahab, can I have all my doobage?"  
   "Yo, wastoid, you're not gonna blaze up in here," Alan protested but everyone else but Abby ended up following Brent and smoking it, even Alan, he took a joint for himself and went up to a room on the second floor.  
   Bram, Cassandra, Brent, and I were sitting in a circle with Abby watching from her seat, Bram had on Brent's glasses and said after taking a hit of the joint him and Cassandra were sharing after she coughed after taking the first hit, "Chicks cannot hold dey smoke, that's what it is."  
   "Do you know how popular I am? I am so popular, everybody loves me so much at this school," Cassandra said clearly already high.  
   "Sure they do," Brent murmured.  
   Brent got out a match and lit it with his two front teeth then lit the joint in my hand that we already knew we were sharing, after I took a hit I passed it to him and after he took one he smiled and said, "Minty."  
   Bram held out a hand to Brent as if he wanted a high-five and Brent gave it to him hitting his face with it then fell down making us laugh  
   We were snapped out of our laughing when we heard Alan yell from upstairs. We all looked up to see him unzip hoodie and start running around energetically, he ran around the second floor once then went back into the room he was in smoking the joint then screamed making the glass on the window break into pieces. I looked over at Abby who just stared up at Alan with wide eyes but a smile was plastered on her face as she watched him walk down to us then the two of them joined our group.  
   "You gotta middle name?" Alan asked Bram making fun of his first name.  
   "Your middle name is Ryan, your birthday is March 13th, you're 5'10 1/2",  you weigh 137 pounds, and your social security number is 049-37-0973," Abby said quietly.  
   "Wow! Are you psychic?" Alan asked her with wide eyes looking at her like she was the most amazing thing he's ever seen.       
   "No," she giggled.  
   "Then would you mind explaining how you know all this about me?" Bram asked.  
   "I stole your wallet," she answered holding up his wallet which he snatched out of her hands.  
   "This is great, you're a thief too?" Bram asked her.  
   "I'm not a thief," she muttered.  
   "Multi-talented," Alan smiled at her.  
   "What's there to steal? Two bucks and a beaver shot," she laughed smiling back at Alan.  
   "A what?" Alan asked, laughing also.  
   "He's got a nudie picture, I saw it, it's perverted," she laughed, but I knew she was just kidding around with Bram about the nude picture.  
   "This is the worst fake I.D. I've ever seen, you realize you made yourself 68?" Alan laughed as he was looking through Bram's wallet.  
   "I know, I goofed it," Bram laughed.  
   "What do you need a fake I.D. for?" Alan asked.  
   "So I can vote," Bram answered making us laugh quietly.  
   "You want to see what's in my bag?" Abby asked.  
   "No, Bram replied but Abby dumped her bag out anyway, there was so much shit in there I don't know how it fit in there.  
   "Holy shit, what is all that stuff?" Alan questioned.  
   "Do you always carry this much shit in your bag?" Bram wondered.  
   "Yeah, I always carry this much shit in my bag, you never know when you may have to jam," she answered smiling at Alan.       
   "Are you going to be, like, a shopping bag lady? That like, sit in alleyways and talk to buildings, wear men's shoes," Bram asked quietly.  
   "I'll do what I have to do," she answered.  
   "Why do you have to do anything?" asked Bram.  
   "My home life...is unsatisfying," she said softly looking up at Alan who was looking down at Bram's wallet.  
   "You'd subject yourself to the violent dangers of Chicago's streets because your home life is unsatisfying?" Bram asked, bewildered.  
   "I don't have to run away and live in the streets, I can run away, and I can go to the ocean, the country, the mountains,  
Israel, Africa, Afghanistan," she replied.  
   "Alan, you want to get in on this? Abby says she wants to run away because her home life is unsatisfying," Bram turned to Alan who looked up.  
   "Well, everyone's home life is unsatisfying, if it wasn't, people would live with their parents forever," Alan frowned at her.         
   "Yeah, I understand, but I think hers goes beyond what guys like you and me consider "normal" unsatisfying," Bram replied, still turned toward Alan.  
   "Never mind, forget it, everything's cool," Abby said.  
   "What's the deal?" Alan asked.  
   "No, there's no deal, sporto," Abby said.  
   "Forget it, leave me alone," Abby muttered.  
   "Wait a minute, you're carrying all that crap in your purse, either you really want to run away or you want people to think you wanna run away," Alan suggested.  
   "Eat shit," she said getting teary eyed then walked away and leaned on the counter with her back to us.  
   "The girl is an island unto herself, okay?" Bram said then Alan followed and stood next to her, as Bram started a conversation with Cassandra I listened in on Abby and Alan.  
   "Hi," Alan said quietly and asked, "You want to talk?"  
   "No," she answered avoiding eye contact.  
   "Why not?" he asked truly interested and sounded pretty worried.  
   "Go away," she demanded then looked at him.  
   "Where do you want me to go?" Alan wondered.  
   "Go away," she repeated then as he was going to walk away she said, "You have problems."  
   "Oh, I have problems?" he responded.  
   "You do everything everybody tells you! That is a problem," she claimed.  
   "Okay, fine, but I didn't dump my purse out on the couch and invite people into my problems, did l?" Alan asked then got really quiet and his voice turned sweet, "So what's wrong? What is it? Is it bad? Real bad? Parents?"  
   "Yeah," she answered.  
   "What did they do to you?" he asked stepping closer to her.  
   "They ignore me," she frowned at him, then I saw something I never thought I'd see, he hugged her tightly and they stood there for a while just holding each other, it made me happy, but it made me sad that they were both in pain, it made my heart hurt, but I felt a little better when I felt fingers slip between mine, I looked over to see Brent giving me a look I couldn't really explain, but it was a good one.  
  



	8. The Pressure

   We moved to the front of the library where we formed a circle, leaving at least a foot between each other, Cassandra sat next to Bram who sat by Alan then Abby, me, then Brent, Cassandra had just asked Alan what he would do for a million dollars to which he asked, "What would I do for a million bucks? I guess as little as I had to."  
   "That's boring," Cassandra exclaimed while laughing.  
   "How am I supposed to answer?" Alan asked laughing along with her.  
   "The idea is to search your mind for the absolute limit, like, would you drive to school naked?" Cassandra asked, explaining the question.  
   "Would I have to get out of the car?" he wondered in return.  
   "Of course," she answered back.  
   "In the spring or winter?" Alan questioned.  
   "Doesn't matter, Spring," she replied.  
   "In the front or back of school?"  
   "Either one."  
   "Yes," he admitted with a laugh making Abby smile.  
   "I'd do it, I'll do anything sexual, I don't need a million dollars either," Abby added in but I knew she was lying the second it came out of her mouth.  
   "You're lying," Cassandra rolled her eyes playfully.  
   "I already have, I've done just about everything except a few things that are illegal, I'm a nymphomaniac," Abby claimed.           
   "Liar," Cassandra let out.  
   "Are your parents aware of this?" Bram asked with wide eyes.  
   "The only person I told was my shrink."  
   "What did he do when you told him?" Alan asked.  
   "He nailed me," Abby laughed.  
   "Very nice," Cassandra said with a look of disgust spread across her face.  
   "I don't think, from a legal standpoint, what he did can be construed as rape since I paid him," Abby sighed.  
   "He's an adult," Cassandra protested.  
   "Yeah, he's married too," Abby laughed again.  
   "Ugh, do you have any idea how completely gross that is?" Cassandra asked still having that disgusted look plastered on her face.  
   "Well, the first few times -" Abby started but was interrupted by Cassandra.  
   "The first few times? You mean he did it more than once?"  
   "Sure," Abby answered simply.  
   "Are you crazy?"  
   "Obviously she's crazy, she's screwing her shrink," Bram butted in.  
   "Have you ever done it?" Abby asked Cassandra.  
   "I don't even have a psychiatrist," Cassandra shoved the question off but I knew no one was gonna let her get away with not answering the question.  
   "Have you ever done it with a normal person?" Abby questioned.  
   "Didn't we already cover this?" Cassandra asked trying to avoid answering.  
   "You never answered the question," Brent said quietly.  
   "I won't discuss my private life with total strangers," Cassandra insisted.  
   "It's kind of a double-edged sword," Abby admitted.  
   "A what?" Cassandra asked, seeming very confused.  
   "Well, if you say you haven't, you're a prude, if you say you have, you're a slut, it's a trap, you want to, but you can't, then when you do, you wish you didn't, right?" Abby explained.  
   "Wrong," Cassandra claimed.  
   "Or are you a tease?" Abby suggested.  
   "She's a tease," Alan answered for Cassandra.  
   "I'm sure, why don't you forget it?" Cassandra asked getting very frustrated.  
   "You're a tease and you know it, all girls are teases," Alan claimed.  
   "Not all of them," Brent said, surprising me, "She's only a tease if what she does gets you hot."  
   "I don't do anything!" Cassandra exclaimed.  
   "That's why you're a tease," Abby said.  
   "Let me ask you something," Cassandra murmured to Abby, still frustrated.  
   "I already told you everything," Abby replied.  
   "Doesn't it bother you to sleep around without being in love? Don't you want respect?" Cassandra asked, not ready for the argument that she just started.  
   "I don't screw to get respect, that's the difference between you and me," Abby told her.  
   "Hope that's not the only difference," Cassandra sighed and rolled her eyes.  
   "Face it, you're a tease," Brent murmured.  
   "I'm not a tease!" Cassandra protested.  
   "Sure you are, sex is your weapon, you said it yourself, you use it to get respect," Brent replied looking back at what she said and having a point.  
   "I never said that, she twisted my words around," Cassandra said pointing to Abby.  
   "What do you use it for then?" Brent asked.  
   "I don't use it period!" Cassandra yelled.  
   "Oh, are you medically frigid or is it psychological?" he wondered, having a tint of sarcasm roaming in his voice.  
   "I didn't mean it that way, you're putting words into my mouth!" Cassandra replied.  
   "Just answer the question, I did," Bram said calmly to Cassandra making her calm down and look at him with an expression I couldn't really determine.  
   "No I never did it," she said quietly.  
   "I never did it either, I'm not a nymphomaniac, I'm a compulsive liar," Abby admitted with a small smile but I could tell she felt a little guilty.  
   "You are such a bitch! You did that on purpose just to fuck me over," Cassandra yelled getting very upset in the process making me feel bad.  
   "I would do it, if you love someone, it's okay," Abby let out quietly looking up at Alan who was looking at her with a caring expression.  
   "I can't believe you, you're so weird, you don't say anything all day, then, when you open your mouth you unload all these tremendous lies all over me," Cassandra said hitting the ground next to her with her hand.  
   "You're just pissed off because she got you to admit to something that you didn't want to admit to," Alan said, unsurprisingly siding with Abby.  
   "Fine, but that doesn't make it any less bizarre," Cassandra responded.  
   "What's bizarre? I mean we're all pretty bizarre, some of us are better at hiding it that's all," Alan said looking down at his hands that were laying in his lap.  
   "How are you bizarre?"   
   "He can't think for himself," Abby answered for him.  
   "She's right, know what I did to get in here? I taped Leo Learner's buns together," Alan said laughing a bit but I knew it wasn't real.  
   "That was you?" Bram asked with wide eyes.  
   "You know him?" Alan asked in return.  
   "Yeah, I know him," Bram answered looking a little sad.  
   "Then you know how hairy he is, when they pulled the tape off...most of his hair and some skin came too," Alan said looking very sad.  
   "Oh, my God..." Cassandra said and looked down then Alan continued.  
   "And the bizarre thing is that I did it for my old man, I tortured this poor kid because I wanted him to think I was cool...he was always going off about when he was in school...all the wild things he used to do...I got the feeling he was disappointed that I never cut loose on anyone, right? So I'm sitting in the locker room...and I'm taping up my knee...and Leo's undressing a couple lockers down from me...and he's kind of...he's kind of skinny, weak.  
   "I started thinking about my father...and his attitude about weakness, the next thing I knew I jumped on top of him and started wailing on him, my friends just laughed and cheered me on, and afterwards...when I was sitting in Vernon's office...all I could think about...was Leo's father...and Leo having to go home...and explain what happened to him..." Alan let a tear fall from his eyes, he was getting upset, it was like I could feel exactly what he was feeling...  
   "And the humiliation...the fucking humiliation he must have felt, it must have been unreal, how do you apologize for something like that? There's no way...it's all because of me and my old man...God, I fucking hate him, he's like this...he's like this mindless machine I can't relate to anymore...'Alan! You've got to be number one! I won't tolerate any losers in this family, your intensity is for shit! Win! Win! Win!' son of a bitch...  
   "You know, sometimes, I wish my knee would give, then I wouldn't be able to wrestle anymore, then he could forget all about me..." by this time Cassandra, Bram, Abby, and Alan were crying and Brent was just staring at the ground but I bit my lip trying to keep the pain from being noticed.  
   "I think your old man and my old man should get together and go bowling," Brent let out.  
   "Like with my grades...like when I step outside of myself, and I look back and see me...I don't like what I see...I really don't..." Bram admitted.  
   "What's wrong with you? Why don't you like yourself?" Cassandra asked, genuinely curious but worried about him.  
   "Sounds stupid, but...because I'm failing shop, we had this assignment, you know...to make this ceramic elephant and when you pull the trunk, the light goes on, like a lamp...well, my light didn't go on, I got an "F" on it...I've never gotten an "F" in my life, when I signed up for the course...I thought I was playing it smart, that it would be an easy way to keep up my grade point average..." Bram replied.  
   "Why'd you think it'd be easy?" Brent asked.  
   "I dunno, I guess I just thought that since it wasn't an academic course that it would be easy, but I was a dumbass for thinking that," Bram admitted then kept going, "I know it's kind of a weird time, but I was just wondering what will happen on Monday? When we're all together again, I consider you guys my friends, am I wrong?"  
   "No," Alan said quietly.  
   "So on Monday, what happens?" Bram asked.  
   "If we're still friends, you mean? If we're friends now?" Cassandra asked.  
   "Yeah," Bram answered.  
   "Want the truth?" Cassandra wondered.  
   "Yeah, I want the truth," Bram nodded and prepared for her reply.  
   "I don't think so."  
   "With all of us or just Brent?" Abby asked.  
   "With all of you," she answered making me for some reason feel hurt and a little betrayed.  
   "That's a real nice attitude, Cassandra," Alan said sounding pretty pissed off by her reply.  
   "Oh, be honest, Alan, if Bram came up to you on Monday, what would you do? Picture this, you're there with all the jocks, you know exactly what you'd do, you'd say hi and when he left you'd talk shit about him so your friends wouldn't think you really liked him," Cassandra inferred.  
   "Fuck no," Alan said making Bram look at him with amazement.  
   "Okay, what if I came up to you?" Abby asked Cassandra still having tears in her eyes from what Alan had said earlier about his father.  
   "The same exact thing," she admitted which internally pissed me off but I just sat there not doing or saying a thing, Brent must have seen right through it cause after I felt  his eyes on me he yelled.  
   "You are a bitch!"  
   "Why? Because I'm telling the truth, that makes me a bitch?" Cassandra asked, yelling herself.  
   "No! 'Cause you know how shitty that is to do to someone and you don't have the balls to stand up to your friends," Brent fired back.  
   "What about you, you hypocrite? Why don't you take Abby to a heavy metal vomit party, take Bram or Alan out to the parking lot to get high. Or Casey? What would your friends say if you were walking down the hall together? They'd laugh their asses off, you'd say you were doing it, so they'd forgive you," I looked over at Brent who was enraged and I knew the exact reason why.  
   "Don't talk about my friends! You don't know them, you don't look at them and you certainly wouldn't condescend to speak to them, just stick to what you know: shopping, nail polish, your father's BMW, your drunk mother in the Caribbean -" Brent said but was interrupted by Cassandra.  
   "Shut up!"  
   "Just bury your head and wait for your fucking prom!" Brent yelled back at her.  
   "I hate you!" she screamed.  
   "Yeah? Good!" Brent replied.  
   "I assume Abby, Casey, and I are better people than you guys? Us weirdo's?" Bram asked, "Would you do that to me?"  
   "I don't have any friends," Abby admitted.  
   "Well, if you did?" Bram replied.  
   "No,  I don't think my kind of friends would mind," Abby said with a smile.  
   "I just want to tell each of you that I wouldn't do that, I wouldn't and I will not because I think that's real shitty," Bram responded and I agreed with every word he said.  
   "Your friends wouldn't mind because they look up to us," Cassandra said selfishly only thinking of herself and her huge ego.      
   "You're so conceited, Cassandra, you're so full of yourself, why?" Bram asked getting a little upset.  
   "I'm not saying that to be conceited, I hate having to go along with everything my friends say," Cassandra said and started crying.  
   "Then why do you do it?" Bram asked.  
   "I don't know, I don't -you don't understand...you don't -you're not friends with the people Alan and I are friends with, you don't understand the pressure they can put on you," Cassandra said still crying.  
   "I don't understand what? You think I don't understand pressure? Well, fuck you! Fuck you!" Bram had his arm covering his face wiping away tears and asked quietly, "You know why I'm here today? Do you? I'm here...because...Carl found a gun in my locker."  
   "Why'd you have a gun?" Alan asked looking at Bram with a concerned expression as he uncovered his face.  
   "I tried, you pull the fucking trunk...and the light's supposed to go on, it didn't go on, I mean, I -" Alan interrupted Bram.  
   "What's the gun for?"  
   "...I can't have an 'F', I can't have it...and I know my parents can't have it, even if I ace the rest of the semester...I'm still only a 'B', everything's ruined for me..." Bram trailed off.  
   "Bram," Cassandra said quietly in a guilty tone of voice.  
   Bram punch the stool next to him making it fall over and said, "Considering my options, you know?"  
   "No killing yourself is not an option," Cassandra said softly.  
   "Well I didn't do it, did l! No, I don't think so," Bram said still crying a little.  
   "It was a handgun?" Abby asked.  
   "Flare gun," Bram admitted.  
   Everyone including Bram started laughing except me, which lightened the mood and it lightened even more when Abby asked, "Know what I did to get in here? Nothing, I didn't have anything better to do."  
   When everyone started laughing she said, "You're laughing at me."  
   "No," Alan said while laughing.  
   "Yeah, you are," Abby laughed along with him.  
   "Well, there's only one person left...Casey?" Alan said, this conversation was going to go down hill very quickly, I felt my heart start to beat quicker and took a deep breath.  
    _P_ _lease don't judge me,_ was all I could think...  
  
  


End file.
